Stuart Dallas, a former Northern Ireland and Leeds United midfielder, is part of a team behind a new eight-court premium padel club in Leeds. 5-metre-high roof. Dallas retired from football in 2024 due to a horrific knee injury suffered in April 2022 in an on-field collision with Jack Grealish of Manchester City.
He stated, 'My knee’s alright. It allows me to do what I need to do now. I’m able to do bits and pieces and so far I’ve not really had many problems.
I still need to go to the gym and keep up the strength in it. I knew that anyway and I suppose it holds me accountable to get in the gym and stuff as well. I play a bit of padel here and there too.
' He also said, 'I’ll be totally honest with you, I don’t miss any of it. Because of the age I was and I knew that I couldn’t physically play at that level – I don’t miss any of it. ' Padel is described as a mixture of tennis and squash and is the world's fastest-growing sport.
In the UK, the number of padel courts has grown from 50 to nearly 900 since 2019, while as of May 2023, 400,000 people regularly play padel in the UK, up from an estimated 15,000 in 2019. Dallas noted, 'Padel has become a sport I’ve really enjoyed and I’d noticed how many people across the region have taken it up in recent years. ' According to an official statement, the club aims to raise the bar for padel in Yorkshire in terms of facilities and community focus.
My knee’s alright. It allows me to do what I need to do now. I’m able to do bits and pieces and so far I’ve not really had many problems. It’s a bit sore at times but that’s just part and parcel of it due to how complex the injury was.
Adam Silverwood, Managing Director, said in an official statement, 'Padel is as much about connection as competition and at Optimum Padel our priority is to create a genuinely community-focused club - a place where people can play, meet friends, work, eat and drink under one roof. ' The exact number of operations Dallas underwent after his injury is unclear, and his financial stake in the venture is unknown.